Too Late
by Shaman Zel
Summary: Zel/Lina dark fic- Shabb ressurected


Too Late

** **

Lina was off bandit hunting one day, her favorite hobby. It inspired two benefits: food and money for food. She was considering herself the most accomplished bandit destroying business woman in the current of chaos when she was spotted by her other three companions. She had already vanquished the last of the bandits, though, and had none left to share. 

The head bandit, who had hid behind a rock as Lina picked his gang slowly off, tried to sneak away while the hunter was distracted by her friends, but his sudden movement caught Lina's attention.

"**Fireball**" she yelled. A huge ball of fire sped toward the bandit. He didn't stand a chance. He even tried to counter with a **flare arrow** (He never finished saying "**Flare Arrow**" before he was fried)

Sizzle! Suddenly, out of the ashes of the bandit, a phoenix flew up and out into the sky. It rendered an earsplitting shriek before crossing over the distant, lofty mountains.

Lina disregarded this as mere phenomenon, and the group went of to an inn. When she fell asleep, she was haunted by the same nightmare that she had every night: Zel was dead. Lina woke up thinking of how desperately she missed him. ~*~Why do I care so much?~*~she thought. 

The next day passed without event, with Gourry and Lina putting five local buffet diners out of food. Lina dreamt again. This time though, Shabranigdo had been reborn, and no one but her was there to stop him from destroying the world. In the middle of the night she woke up sweating. After an hour, Lina fell back into a deep slumber.

In the morning, Lina heard rumors that their was a cave nearby which held the secret to many cures. She decided to investigate.

The cave was dark and damp, yet it glowed with a strange red aura. As Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Syphiel walked the corridors they felt an oppressing sense of impending doom. After some hours of walking, the group arrived at a circular chamber at the center of which there was an altar smeared with blood. Upon the altar was a rite which stated, "For the cure to be granted, a price must be paid."

"What, that's all!!!" Lina screamed incredulously. 

Syphiel, who had been looking around the room, spotted an engraving. Amelia rushed towards it and read aloud, "Chant this incantation and then wish for a cure.

_Darkness beyond twilight,_

_Crimson beyond blood that flows,_

_Buried in the flow of time is where your power grows,_

_I pledge myself to conquer,_

_All the foes that stand,_

_Before the mighty gift,_

_Bestowed in my unworthy hands,_

_Heed me now, Thou who is darker than dusk,_

_Heed thou, Who is redder than blood,_

_From the bottomless abyss of time eternal,_

_I call upon thee, master of the ultimate darkness,_

_Have no pity on the fools who stand in our way,_

_Deliver unto them the ultimate doom,_

_And wipe them from the face of this earth,_

_I call upon thee!!!_

**Demon Call**

** **

**Lina figured that it couldn't hurt, and she complied. She wished for a chimeric cure. Almost instantly, a package appeared in her hands. Then, she realized what she had done.**

"That was a combination of two **Dragon Slaves**, with an addition of a call-up!" Lina said.

"But that means.." Amelia replied.

".." was Gourry's witty comment.

"Oh no, the whole world will be consumed," Syphiel said.

"How very correct," a deep voice said.

Lina turned around to face Shabranigdo reborn. Syphiel cast a protection spell, Gourry drew his Sword, and Amelia readied an attack spell.

"Your **Giga Slave** will have no impact on me," said the demon lord.

"Yeah, we'll see about that, oh conceited one." Lina retorted.

Amelia chanted. 

_Source of all souls that dwells in the eternal and the infinite,_

_Everlasting flame of blue_

_All power locked deep within my soul_

_I call forth here from the infinite!_

_ _

_**Ra Tilt**_

** **

**After casting Ra Tilt, Amelia made victory signs and zipped up the nearest pole. When the flames died down, though, Shabranigdo was still there, unscathed. Amelia promptly fell, face first. Lina sighed.**

_Darkness beyond the blackest pitch,_

_Deeper than the Deepest night,_

_King of Darkness shining like gold upon the sea of chaos,_

_I swear allegiance to thee, and I call upon thee,_

_Let all the fools that stand before us be destroyed by the power You and I possess,_

_ _

_**Giga Slave**._

_ _

__Meanwhile, in the name of justice, Amelia cast Visfaranku. Unknown to her, Shabranigdo had cast a spell that targeted the Giga Slave on any other spell caster. The Giga Slave found Amelia and consumed her in a well of darkness, and the jet-black clung to her, roasting her slowly over an open fire. She screamed, and darts of non-light ebony pierced both her soul and being. Blood gushed forty feet from her aorta, and she died horribly.

"Amelia! Nooooooo!" Gourry screamed. Then he asked in typical Gourry fashion, "Uhh.. What happened to Amelia?".

Lina began to cast Ragna Blade.

_Lord of the dreams that terrify,_

_Sword of the cold, dark, void,_

_Free yourself from the heaven's bonds,_

_Become one with my body, one with my power,_

_And let us walk the path of destruction together,_

_Power that can smash even the souls of the gods!_

_Black sword of darkness, Slash through all!!!_

_ _

__**Ragna Blade!**

Shabranigdo grabbed the end of the blade and tore it from Lina's grasp, striking Gourry, who had ignited his sword of light, Gourry fell unconscious and his breathing became ragged.

Syphiel said with compassion "Gourry dear!" And attempted a healing spell, which backfired and caused her to fall unconscious. Lina yelled. Shabranigdo threw millions of bolts of red-black flame at Lina, and they hurtled through her skin and body, causing blood to flow unchecked. Lina fell, but then got quickly back up. ~*~I must prevent Shabranigdo from destroying our world.~*~ she thought.

_ _

_Darkness beyond the depths of time,_

_Power unyielding, flame unfailing,_

_Arise from the shadows,_

_Regain your true form._

_May your entity prevail over all!_

# Chaos Beast

Green gold light swirled from within Lina's talismans. A dark obsidian welled up from within the depths of her twin gem studded shoulder pads, spreading along her length, threatening to consume her. Lina quickly cast Boost

_Lord of Darkness of the four worlds, _

_I call upon you,_

_Grant me all the power,_

_All the power that you possess,_

Red light flared in the demon's blood talismans, competing with the green for dominance. The lights in their unending duel created an imbalance that almost overwhelmed her. The blood from her wounds started to flow more freely, and more wounds opened up from their clotted stage. The strain was almost too much. She needed Zelgadis's support dearly, but he was not there, only her memories, primarily the one of his departure. 

Zelgadis had gone in search of another cure, yet had begged Lina stay behind. 

"This is a dangerous lead, you might get injured, or even.." Zelgadis said.

"So, I can take care of myself." Lina replied.

"I'm sorry, I would never forgive myself if y- anyone died because of my cure." Zel said.

"Well, I don't care, just go off then, I'll show you."

Only now did she realize how desperately she loved him. Tears stung Lina's eyes, though she sought to dam the flow. ~*~This is for him~*~ she reminded herself, and she used the last reserves of her strength to cast one last spell.

_Darkness beyond the gaping void,_

_Shrouded ever in Pitch and Ebon,_

_Merciless Lord over all that live,_

_Infinite power lying dormant within,_

_That which could slice down the gods in a single fell slash,_

_Power that can silence all that dare oppose the king,_

_She who against even the gods are helpless,_

_Whose domain is all,_

_Whose reign is eternal,_

_You who are Darker than the blackest pitch,_

_Deeper than the deepest night,_

_`I submit my body, my soul, my utter being to thee,_

_I cry for thy sacred, holy, insurmountable power._

_Have no pity on the fools that stand before your unerring might,_

_Arise from the ashes of your former splendor,_

_When you walked upon the chaos of creation, as the sole power._

_We shall course the seldom trodden roads of annihilation together,_

_And nothing shall stand in our wake alive,_

_Let all life be purged before our unerring might._

_May the fools that stand before us be driven into oblivion,_

# Ragna Death

Lina's four talismans began to glow. A dimensional portal opened, unveiling a spherical, empty, black void between Lina's hands. It began to pour a jet black the shade of chaos, darker than the blackest pitch outward, thin at the source and broad at the uttermost, like a funnel with an elongated tip, and all in swirling black. A long but narrow dome with its focus at the wide part of the funnel sprang into view. It ballooned forward like an umbrella, becoming wide but shallow dome. Shaburanigdo reborn expressed his thoughts, "What spell is this?"

A jet-black sphere formed around Lina and sucked into a hemisphere. It shot forward and stopped halfway down the funnel. Both domes extended back further in Lina's direction and became pitch-black hemispheres. The funnel branched out into two long, ebony funnels. They poured forward out of the portal at great velocity, propelling the now extended hemispheres of sable energy forward. While the partial spheres raced toward the monster, spiraling around each other, their edges flowing outward into two expanding circles. Elongated black darts shot rapidly out of the front parts. The entirety twisted this way and that, seeking the monster lord.

Lina's eyes began to glow with a pulsating yellow ochre. She smiled sadly as more blood gushed from her open wounds. A yellow fire flared up around her as she walked slowly forward. Shaburanigdo blanched in fear. His eyes paled as he manipulated dimensions like crazy in a futile attempt to escape Lina's wrath, but to no avail. He vanished in a thick shroud of darkness and a last, wailing, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" 

When the darkness subsided, he was no longer there. Lina watched as the six united parts of Shaburanigdo boiled down to nothing. She collapsed on the ground from the sheer exertion. Sobs wracked her broken petit form, and blood flowed unchecked. She had no energy left to perform a healing spell, and as the others were unconscious, no external help was provided. ~*~Ironic,~*~ she thought, ~*~How in my hour of greatest need I am without Zel for the first time since I met him two and a half years ago.~*~ 

As blood the color of Lina' s ruby eyes continued to pour out mercilessly, she fell. Clutching the cure to her chest, as well as the note she had quickly written in her blood, Lina said, "Zelgadis." Her voice caught in her throat, and Lina Inverse died there, calling Zel's name.

## Epilogue

** **

Zelgadis discovered Lina the following day. Close by were the still unconscious forms of Gourry and Syphiel alongside the remains of Amelia. Shocked, he came upon Lina's still form and saw a small package tied to a letter that was clutched to her breast. He opened the letter and saw Lina's handwriting, but in a blood red color. ~*~It's blood~*~he thought,~*~Her blood~*~. He quickly read the short note.

Zelgadis,

This is your cure. I love you, Zel~.

Lina

Zelgadis Greywers cried, heartbroken. ~*~If only I had told her sooner that I loved her. If only we had one more day. This would never have come to pass. If I was there, I could have healed her.~*~ Then on a angrier note, ~*~This was Shabranigdo's doing.~*~Then, he opened the package. Inside was an obsidian disc, which he knew somehow to crack open with his stone fist. He ingested the dark, tasteless fluid inside, and his stomach began to feel soft. From his stomach, the softness spread outwards across his skin. Upon spreading over his entire body, he found that he was human, in the flesh, so to speak ^.~

Zelgadis buried Lina in the fields hear her hometown of Zefilia. He healed Gourry and Syphiel. After this, Zel cremated Amelia, placing her ashes in an ornate jar and sending it off to Sailoon with Gourry and Syphiel. The couple had weeped on seeing Lina and Amelia. 

The day after the couple left to Sailoon, Zelgadis opened Lina's grave and stepped inside, closing the grave behind him.

_Here, in this sacred place,_

_I break my earthly bonds,_

_I give my life._

_ _

**__****Death**

And Zelgadis Greywers died next to his beloved, Lina.


End file.
